


A Creepypasta Story

by Vaniss



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets
Genre: F/M, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 12:40:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15437262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vaniss/pseuds/Vaniss
Summary: Claudia Delacour is a young gifted child who stumbles upon the 'Slender Mansion' late one night after being separated from her parents. This is her story - her survival.





	1. Welcome To The Slender Mansion

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this on www.quotev.com, and thought I would upload it here as well. This is the 2018 version.

"Run, Claudia, and don't you dare look back!" her mother shouted as she pushed her child through the window of the car, and into the overgrown forestation of the roadside.

Claudia scrambled out of the car window and carefully crossed glass that had been shattered from the impact of the crash. And run she did, but she couldn't help but cast a glance back as she reached the treeline. With tears in her eyes, she studied the scene; her mother was now tending to her father, and a figure seemed to be approaching from the other side of the road. For the briefest moment, Claudia's breath hitched in anticipation and hope. She took a step forward, mouth opening. However, in that moment her mother turned her head back, and locked eyes with the tiny child, her own widening in horror as she shook her head, mouthing the word _'go'_.

Claudia slowly turned around, and headed back into the forest. Her feet felt heavy at first, hard to move and sluggish, but soon she was able to run, and began passing through the trees, leaving her parents in the overturned car, as she fled deeper into the forest with one passing thought:  _I need to find help_. Knowing that her parents were either hurt, or in some sort of trouble, she couldn't leave them alone with that mysterious figure.

As she ran, her dress snagged upon the trees, tearing the beautiful frock of white and lilac into stained ribbons of dirty and grass; her hair a mess, leaves and sticks entangled in her long golden braid. She didn't even realise how dark it was getting inside the forest, until the cold trembled across her pale flesh. The little girl slowed her pace as she looked around in confusion as the atmosphere changed, the air now crisp and cool, and the trees tall and daunting as they loomed above. Claudia hugged her arms across her chest tightly as she walked on, the ancient trees were thick on either side, with a light mist now curling about her feet.

Claudia walked for what felt like the longest time, unsure and debating if she should just turn back, but decidedly she pressed on. Soon, an old mansion could be seen through the trees; it appeared to be abandoned, with most of the windows either broken or boarded up, and the whole place slowly being taken back by the wilderness. It sent chills down her spine, though not because of the cold, but still she approached the building. It was the only place she had seen, and it didn't make sense to the tiny girl that this place might not host an occupation - at least, no friendly person would live there.

Stopping at the front door, she raised a tiny fist and took hold of the knocker. Lifting the heavy brass, and then letting it go to create a loud booming knock that echoed through the silence of the woods. It was then that Claudia realized that there were no bird sounds, or the chirping of crickets.

Claudia contemplated knocking again as the minutes passed with nothing but dead silence, but instead she resorted to finally head back to the car. She turned and took a step towards the forest, when the building seemed to groan. A small metallic click answered as she turned back to the door, only to see it creak open, and an incredibly tall and slender man peered down at her with a white, faceless head.

The creature stared at her, tilting its head slowly from side to side as though it was confused. Naturally, it didn't speak, instead a long, inky black tendril came out of its back and wrapped around Claudia's waist, and swiftly picked her up and pulled her inside the darkened mansion.

Claudia struggled momentarily, trying to pry away the tendril in order to free herself, but it was thick and muscular, unyielding to her attempts.

 _'Fret not, child,'_  a voice came, though it was not a voice Claudia had hear with her ears, though more of a thought that had merged with her own thoughts. The voice was characteristically male, and she got a feeling that this voice belonged to the tall man who was moving through the halls of the rundown estate.  _'You are safe, for now, at least.'_

Lip quivering, Claudia decided that she may not have much choice in the matter, and submitted to whatever fate decided for her.

The slender man moved with graceful elegance; he barely moved, and seemed to drift along the abandoned halls. It was bewitching to watch, and Claudia found herself mesmerised - almost lulled into a false sense of comfort that enveloped her mind.

 _'How old are you, child?'_  the creature questioned lightly, perhaps if only to close the silence.

The girl hesitated, briefly wondering if this would count as 'stranger danger' in her mother's eyes, or a sort of imaginary illusion. Deciding it must be the latter - she must have fell asleep in the woods while running away from the car, or better yet, the whole thing was a dream - she answered. "I'm.. eight."

The slender man's face seemed to stretch, as if he were grinning were it not for the lack of mouth.  _'I see_ ,' it told her, and then asked another question.  _'And what is your name, little lost child?'_

It didn't even concern her that this creature knew she was lost, in fact, the thought that she may be in a horrible situation didn't even cross her mind. Not even inside this decrepit building and its rundown halls, with this creature taken from fiction and brought into her own world. "Um, its Claudia," she answered, curious as the creature stopped in front of a door. "But, who are you?"

It was only fair; a name for a name.  _'Why, child, you may call me the Slenderman.'_


	2. Of Monsters Of Men

Claudia contemplated over the name the creature presented her for itself. It was plain, and descriptive, and overall was a very appropriate name as it was a very slender man. He supposed he wasn't born with a name, like Richard or Jerry, or perhaps if he had, he no longer remembered having such a name.

"Is this your home? Do you live alone?" she wondered as the Slenderman opened the door they stood in front of; he was careful and gentle, as the old door dared to break free from its rusted iron hinges.

'For the most part, yes and no,' he replied, bringing the child into the large tiled room. It was dirty still, but seemingly the cleanest room of the rundown home.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was a bathroom. A long row of counters featured a sink and a large oval mirror, a small cabinet was tucked in the corner, and a dressing screen concealed a large bath tub and the toilet. The Slenderman moved them inside, and closed the door behind them. It was only then that he set Claudia down on her feet, however the creature lingered by the door, preventing her from trying to escape - unfortunately that was enough to deter her.

'Most of the time, I am alone though,' he continued, answering Claudia's second question as she stood there, unsure of what he expected her to do inside the bathroom. 'Occasionally, however, I act as a mediator between others of my kind, as well as a guiding hand for my own proxies.'

"There are other Slendermens?"

'I- well, no, not exactly,' he said, and attempted to explain. 'They are known as 'creepypasta', however not the pasta you are currently thinking of. More accurately, they are more akin to creatures of folklore and legend, created by the internet and made real - such as I have - by the power of belief.'

It was an odd thing to say, let alone believe in, although Claudia wasn't given room to doubt what he said. Her circumstances were peculiar enough, and as he explained it she became aware that she might not be as safe as her mind tried to convince herself that she was. Nervously, she glanced about, and gave a nod to acknowledge that she was listening to what he was saying.

"So... why am I here?" she asked, looking back at the creature.

The Slenderman loomed several feet taller than her, with a tailored black suit and tie, and skin of chalk-white. His arms and legs were equally long and lanky, and sort of reminded her of a house spider, and though he bore no facial features - no eyes, mouth, nose or even ears - his expression still remained. Claudia could tell when he smiled, or when he frowned through the subtle manipulation of his facial muscles that were still in place.

The Slenderman stared down at her with no emotion for a long minute, and then turned, extended a finger and flicking the switch upon the wall. Surprisingly, the light flickered on, meaning that for some reason the mansion still had electricity powering the building. It made no sense, but Claudia was far too young to understand that.

Claudia watched the creature with wide eyes, as it walked past her towards the other side of the room. Once past her, she glanced towards the door, where he had allowed one of his lengthy tendrils hold the door shut, and then sighed in defeat, looking back at the Slenderman as he approached the bathtub and leaned over it.

'You will wash and change your clothes,' he informed her, though quite clearly it was a demand and not a request.

Claudia wanted to tell him no, or even to ask him why, but found she couldn't speak and her body began to comply with the creature's will. With that, the Slenderman reached over and turned the stiff taps on, letting the water spill out of the faucet and into the old porcelain tub, before turning towards the child. He took a long stride towards her, his nimble fingers reaching her before the rest of his body, and though she wanted to, Claudia couldn't protest or scream for help as the creature removed her tattered clothes.

Once the tub had filled, which it did so rather quickly, the Slenderman took Claudia and placed her into the warm soapy water. The steam from the tub wafted up, filling the room with the scent of berries and frangipani. All Claudia could do was take deep, shaky breaths in and out. She could move her head, but not the rest of her body, and her vocal chords didn't obey her desire to scream. Though terrified, there was a nagging sense in her mind that she was okay. It tried to comfort her and tell her that she was safe, but she knew better than to believe it.

The bath was as quick as it could have been, and with the water drained she was lifted up and out, her body impeccably clean. From the cabinet the Slenderman's tendril retrieved a towel, in which he wrapped the child in and picked her up once more.

After walking some ways more, the Slenderman brought Claudia into a room that appeared to have once been a living room. An old fire place suddenly flickering to life as the dead coals sparked embers and began to burn. In the orange light of the flames, then Slenderman produced some clothes and began to dress the child by the warmth of the burning hearth. When or how he got the clothes seemed irrelevant after the events that just took place, so it was merely assumed that he had done this often enough to have a collection of children's clothes; the ones Claudia was dressed into - a simple lilac dress - didn't entirely fit her, but was a size too big. It didn't really matter, at least, not to her and not right now, she was just glad to had clothes on.

'You must be afraid,' the Slenderman suddenly said into her mind as he placed her upon his knee. 'Forgive me, I do not handle people well.'

Claudia wasn't the only one who seemed perplexed at what he said, as even the Slenderman gave a pause and tilted his head.

'Why am I not...' the thought was unfinished as the strange being gave another pause. He then took a comb from his suit and gently brushed it through her long golden locks. 'You are odd, my child,' he spoke again after a few minutes of silent brushing. 'I do not understand these things I feel, nor can I control myself. I think, perhaps I would like to keep you with me for a time, to study you and learn what these emotions are.'

"But you're a monster?" Claudia questioned.

'That is right.'

"But, why?"

'Because we were created as such,' he answered, though the question equally seemed to probe at his mind. 'Perhaps it is because people are afraid of what they do not understand, child. We do bad things, we hurt people, thus we are monsters.'

"Then why don't you stop being the monster they believe you are?" Claudia asked innocently, turning on his lap to look up at his faceless features.

'If only it were that easy, my child.' His voice, in that moment, seemed almost sad, though whether he was sad that he couldn't stop his nature, or sad that he did not wish to change, was anyone's guess.


	3. His Name is BEN

Hours must have passed, and Claudia wasn't quite sure at what point she had drifted off to sleep in the Slenderman's arms, or how she had managed to, but she was awoken at the sound of the old box television switching on. A loud static crackled through the room, pulling the girl back into her consciousness. Claudia sat up and rubbed her eyes groggily, starring quizzically at the television as a boy began to pull himself through the screen.

The boy appeared a few years older, in his teens, and had dishevelled blonde hair, pointed ears and was dressed in green. Once he was out, Claudia was able to identify the costume more appropriately as that of Link, from the Legend of Zelda - well, if Link's eyes were red and bleeding tears down his cheeks.

'BEN?' the Slenderman prompted curiously. 'Why are you here?'

The boy look at Slenderman, and then to Claudia and pointed. "Who's that?"

'Her name is Claudia, she will be staying with me for a while,' the Slenderman answered confidently, although Claudia didn't recall agreeing to such things.

Though sceptical, the elf shrugged. "Huh, okay then," he said dismissively, and took a seat on the ground in front of the television as he began to plug in a console. "I'm just here because I have some free time and saw you and EJ were home."

'EJ? Eyeless Jack is here as well?' the question was poised with startled curiosity. Neither Claudia or the Slenderman had seen anyone else in the mansion, though there had been many rooms left yet to be explored.

The room fell quiet, with only the sound of the gaming console being set up, and the crackling of the open fire. Claudia found herself unable to move, if only just for fear of the creatures now surrounding her. However instead of allowing the silence to take hold, Claudia decided she'd much rather get to know this strange boy who had come from the television. "Your name is Ben?"

The elf looked up, eyes widening slightly, as though he couldn't believe he was being spoken to by this girl. "She sees me too?" he gaped, looking at the Slenderman, then back to Claudia. "Uh, yeah. BEN Drowned."

"He did?" Claudia tilted her head with a pensive frown.

"Ack! No, that's not-" he shook his head, long hat bouncing with the motion. "I mean, my name is BEN Drowned."

"Oh, that's weird," Claudia mumbled. "Are you like Mr Slenderman, then?"

BEN gave her a curious look, and then looked over at the television as the game loaded into a start menu that featured a boy - Link, Claudia recognised, though this Link looked different from her memory, and different to BEN as well - standing atop a small rock, overlooking the world below that was cast in a distant hue of blue. "Well..." he said thoughtfully. "I guess so?"

"So does that mean you're also a monster? You hurt people, and do bad things?" Claudia rephrased.

BEN gave a nod. "Putting it like that, yeah, I guess so," he said, and then turned around. "But what kinda dumbass kid goes around asking people if they're a monster? Sheesh, learn some manners, pipsqueak!"

Claudia looked down at her hands. "R-right, sorry."

Suddenly the Slenderman stood up, placing Claudia beside BEN on the floor. The two looked up at him with puzzled expressions. 'Watch Claudia for a moment, BEN,' he told him, but that was all. In a blink of an eye, the Slenderman was gone, leaving the two on the floor of the rundown living room.

BEN let out an exasperated sigh and pouted at the television screen; neither moved or spoke for the longest time, and soon enough, BEN had decided to just continue to play his game. Claudia watched in silence, her eyes going from the television to the entrance of the living room, wondering if BEN would bother to stop her if she tried to leave.

"Don't bother," he spoke up. "Slendy will know if you leave, and he's not gonna just let you go, ya'know? You can try, but you won't escape."

"Is that a threat?"

"More like a promise," BEN corrected. "He's telepathic - you know what that means right? And something about you makes him want to keep you around. Stupid, if you ask me. You're just a stupid kid."

"Hey!" Claudia exclaimed, and shoved on his arm. "Listen, I know I'm a kid, but you don't have to go around calling me stupid!"

BEN had, at that point, dropped his controller and was looking up at Claudia, eyes widening and mouth agape. He reached out, but Claudia had already stood up and moved away from him.

"You know what's really stupid? Who the real morons are? People like you!" Her words appeared to cut at the boy, as his expression turn wordlessly pained. "People who hurt people for no reason!"

"Hey, hey now..." he said, getting to his feet. "Look, I'm sorry ok--ugh. What am I saying?!" BEN suddenly shouted at himself. "Why am I apologising? I don't care if I hurt your dumb feelings, but... I.... I feel weird." BEN held his head, staggering a little. "What did you do? Why do I feel so... Why don't I want to...?" his question drifted off, and he shook his head before looking at Claudia once again. "I don't get this. B-but don't go doing weird stuff to people without their permission! I... I'm not like some people that c-come here... d-don't think everyone's just gonna... be okay and not... ugh!" BEN groaned again, and doubled over.

"BEN, are you okay?" Claudia asked, stepping forwards, only to be shooed back.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he gasped desperately. "Why do you give me pity and kindness after how I treat you? Fuck off! Leave me alone!"

Claudia ignored him and knelt down beside him. It was a stupid and reckless decision to make, but her body told her he didn't pose a threat to her - and he didn't. BEN didn't protest, and didn't push her away, but he sat there as she checked him over.

"You're right, it dumb that I keep putting myself in harms way, I know full-well what you are but that's what makes us different," she told the boy with bleeding eyes as he looked at her in dumbfounded disbelief. "You won't hurt me, will you? So there's no point in me not making sure you're okay."

"Dummy..."

"I'm not," she insisted firmly. "I'm being nice. That's something you don't know anything about, so you can't tell me I'm dumb or stupid, because I know what kindness is. Kindness is never being mean, and caring for others even if they treat you badly."

"No, that's just toxic," BEN told her. "Don't hang around people like us. We'll treat you bad just because we can, because you're an easy target to manipulate."

"Like you said," Claudia reminded. "I don't really have much of a choice right now. Even if I wanted to go - which I do - I can't. So I'm making the best of the situation and hoping that maybe it won't be so bad."

"Why wouldn't it be bad? Are you dense or what!"

Claudia sighed. He was probably right; she was dumb, she should leave while she could but who was to say she wouldn't be stopped? That she wouldn't just get lost again. or caught eventually just to be brought back. Staying here willingly meant that her capturers would at least treat her well, or they seemed to - but if she ran? Even she knew that they may not be willing to show her that kindness twice. How else could she survive if she didn't at least try to comply with these creatures? A question she would have to find out, but perhaps at a later time.


End file.
